Ranking the 20 best college football games of 2020

[Across The Field]

What???

I'm not sure what you're asking.

 

[Across The Field]

I don't think UVA will be as good this year. It's why I skipped over it. And I can see USC being better than UNC as well.

And yeah Cal hasn't been relevant in a long time. But I can seem them being this year's Minnesota (maybe not quite that good). But still a top 25 team. I've said I think it'll me a matchup of top 25 teams. That's why I'm fine with it being in the top 20 game list. If they aren't it won't, it's that simple.

And I guess we can agree the AAC is worse than the P12.

Maybe they won't be, but there's no reason to think Cal will be better.

That's also an insane jump to say they could be this year's Minnesota. What would even give that sort of a conclusion? I know you love the ESPN efficiency rankings, and Cal was barely even top 50 last year. What would lead you to think they're suddenly going to make a massive jump? They're limited offensively, even with Garbers. When he was healthy, he was still inconsistent. Even though they had 3 more wins than TCU last year, they were still ranked behind them both in the efficiency rankings and in the Sagarin rankings, which I know you also swear by. They haven't recruited that well, they don't have any real standout playmakers on offense (hilarious you compare them to Minnesota in this regard, given what Minnesota had in 2019), and they lost 3 of their biggest playmakers on defense.

Again, they were added to this list at the tail end just to try and make the list not look biased. Nobody is going to care about those two games, and they're not going to have any real national impact.

 

[ericd7633]

Maybe they won't be, but there's no reason to think Cal will be better.

That's also an insane jump to say they could be this year's Minnesota. What would even give that sort of a conclusion? I know you love the ESPN efficiency rankings, and Cal was barely even top 50 last year. What would lead you to think they're suddenly going to make a massive jump? They're limited offensively, even with Garbers. When he was healthy, he was still inconsistent. Even though they had 3 more wins than TCU last year, they were still ranked behind them both in the efficiency rankings and in the Sagarin rankings, which I know you also swear by. They haven't recruited that well, they don't have any real standout playmakers on offense (hilarious you compare them to Minnesota in this regard, given what Minnesota had in 2019), and they lost 3 of their biggest playmakers on defense.

Again, they were added to this list at the tail end just to try and make the list not look biased. Nobody is going to care about those two games, and they're not going to have any real national impact.

Wow. You're saying Cal wasn't very efficient when they played 6 games without their starting QB? And I said they could make a Minnesota like jump. Minnesota was 7-6 in 2018. And I even said I doubt they get to 11 wins. More like 9 or so. And yes they don't have the offensive playmakers, but Cal should improve offensively and still be good defensively given what they return.

 

[Olyduck]

I see you completely ignore the fact that Virginia/UNC is more deserving a spot, but that's not surprising.

It's a bad look because Utah has been arguably the most consistently good team in the Pac-12 in the CFP era (55 wins over the last 6 seasons), and they'd get knocked off by a crappy team who hasn't been relevant in about 15 years. Cal isn't a good team, while Utah consistently is.

The "rivalry" (lol) may have more games, but it's a significantly less relevant game overall in the national landscape than those 3 other games. Literally nobody cares about that rivalry outside of the state of California, and not that many people in it care either. I rag on the P12 because it is a poor-performing P5 conference, and everything you just said about the AAC can be said about the P12, difference being P12 teams have larger budgets and get better recruits.

I was asking what to this. Utah has been the most consistently good team. Im not real sure about that

 

[Across The Field]

Wow. You're saying Cal wasn't very efficient when they played 6 games without their starting QB? And I said they could make a Minnesota like jump. Minnesota was 7-6 in 2018. And I even said I doubt they get to 11 wins. More like 9 or so. And yes they don't have the offensive playmakers, but Cal should improve offensively and still be good defensively given what they return.

Uh, I said what they were in the efficiency rankings as a whole, not just on offense. Not sure why you're trying to spin that. Also, I'm not sure why you're assuming full health for Garbers considering he got hurt and missed time two separate times last year. Durability is a concern with him.

A Minnesota like jump is very different than going from 8 wins to 9 or 10. Minnesota went from 7 wins to 11, so that's not a Minnesota like jump.

Maybe they improve offensively, but the only way that happens is if Garbers stays fully healthy for every game. That is far from being a given.

 

[Across The Field]

I was asking what to this. Utah has been the most consistently good team. Im not real sure about that

In the CFP era, the best teams in the Pac-12 are:

Utah: 55-25
Washington: 55-26
Oregon: 54-26

Utah hasn't had the highs of Washington and Oregon, but they also haven't had the lows.

 

[ericd7633]

Uh, I said what they were in the efficiency rankings as a whole, not just on offense. Not sure why you're trying to spin that. Also, I'm not sure why you're assuming full health for Garbers considering he got hurt and missed time two separate times last year. Durability is a concern with him.

A Minnesota like jump is very different than going from 8 wins to 9 or 10. Minnesota went from 7 wins to 11, so that's not a Minnesota like jump.

Maybe they improve offensively, but the only way that happens is if Garbers stays fully healthy for every game. That is far from being a given.

They were significantly worse on offense than defense, which drags down their overall efficiency. Their QB missed a bunch of games. There is a correlation between those two. If he doesn't stay healthy they won't be as good. It's pretty simple. Hopefully he does.

As far as Minnesota, guess I could have used a better example but I was trying to think of someone that came out of nowhere to finish in the top 15.

 

[ericd7633]

In the CFP era, the best teams in the Pac-12 are:

Utah: 55-25
Washington: 55-26
Oregon: 54-26

Utah hasn't had the highs of Washington and Oregon, but they also haven't had the lows.

You're correct. But I'd be willing to bet most Ute fans would rather have the Oregon/Washington resume of the CFP than Utah's.

 

[Across The Field]

They were significantly worse on offense than defense, which drags down their overall efficiency. Their QB missed a bunch of games. There is a correlation between those two. If he doesn't stay healthy they won't be as good. It's pretty simple. Hopefully he does.

As far as Minnesota, guess I could have used a better example but I was trying to think of someone that came out of nowhere to finish in the top 15.

Cal was 31st in defensive efficiency and 61st on offense. It wasn't even by any means, but it's not like they were 2018 Oklahoma levels significance. You keep saying Garbers missed all these games, but he played in 9 of their 13 games. He got injured against ASU but was looking decent, but he looked like shit against USC before going out. And in all honesty, in the 7 games he played start to finish, only Ole Miss and Illinois were really good outings. Stanford was good, but they were garbage last year, and it's not like Ole Miss or Illinois were world-beaters either. In the only game he played against a team with a decent defense (Washington), he wasn't good at all. He's a decent QB, but he's not a true game-changer, which is why I think that even at the outside chance he's fully healthy all year long, they're still not going to be a very good team. They lost significant pieces on defense, and their offense isn't very good at all. Hell, they only topped 28 points with Garber one time, even though he faced some absolutely horrible defenses.

If Cal finished 8-5 last year and 35th/37th in the AP and Coaches, a 9-win Cal isn't going to be top 15. A 10-win Cal probably won't based on how the Pac-12 has been in recent years.

 

[Across The Field]

You're correct. But I'd be willing to bet most Ute fans would rather have the Oregon/Washington resume of the CFP than Utah's.

Oh no doubt. I wasn't really talking about that, but yeah I'm sure they'd trade in a couple of 9-win years for one CFP berth.

 

[ericd7633]

Cal was 31st in defensive efficiency and 61st on offense. It wasn't even by any means, but it's not like they were 2018 Oklahoma levels significance. You keep saying Garbers missed all these games, but he played in 9 of their 13 games. He got injured against ASU but was looking decent, but he looked like shit against USC before going out. And in all honesty, in the 7 games he played start to finish, only Ole Miss and Illinois were really good outings. Stanford was good, but they were garbage last year, and it's not like Ole Miss or Illinois were world-beaters either. In the only game he played against a team with a decent defense (Washington), he wasn't good at all. He's a decent QB, but he's not a true game-changer, which is why I think that even at the outside chance he's fully healthy all year long, they're still not going to be a very good team. They lost significant pieces on defense, and their offense isn't very good at all. Hell, they only topped 28 points with Garber one time, even though he faced some absolutely horrible defenses.

If Cal finished 8-5 last year and 35th/37th in the AP and Coaches, a 9-win Cal isn't going to be top 15. A 10-win Cal probably won't based on how the Pac-12 has been in recent years.

I think Garbers is better than you're making him out to be, but that's fine we can disagree. I don't think it's unreasonable to say he's a top 25/30 QB in college football.

I think a 10 win Cal team would be in the top 15. They were in the top 15 before Garbers got hurt last year, after his injury they weren't on anybody's mind after that. Also, I know they lost some defensive production, but Wilcox is a great defensive minded coach. What he's done in 3 years there is pretty remarkable.

 

[Across The Field]

I think Garbers is better than you're making him out to be, but that's fine we can disagree. I don't think it's unreasonable to say he's a top 25/30 QB in college football.

I think a 10 win Cal team would be in the top 15. They were in the top 15 before Garbers got hurt last year, after his injury they weren't on anybody's mind after that. Also, I know they lost some defensive production, but Wilcox is a great defensive minded coach. What he's done in 3 years there is pretty remarkable.

They were top 15 because they had played a super soft schedule and were one of only a handful of P5 unbeatens at that point. If they're 10-3 with a good bowl win over another ranked P5, sure, I could see top 15. If they're 10-2 and then go up against a a team like Auburn or Penn State and get smoked, then they're probably top 20 at very best.

 

[Olyduck]

Cal was 31st in defensive efficiency and 61st on offense. It wasn't even by any means, but it's not like they were 2018 Oklahoma levels significance. You keep saying Garbers missed all these games, but he played in 9 of their 13 games. He got injured against ASU but was looking decent, but he looked like shit against USC before going out. And in all honesty, in the 7 games he played start to finish, only Ole Miss and Illinois were really good outings. Stanford was good, but they were garbage last year, and it's not like Ole Miss or Illinois were world-beaters either. In the only game he played against a team with a decent defense (Washington), he wasn't good at all. He's a decent QB, but he's not a true game-changer, which is why I think that even at the outside chance he's fully healthy all year long, they're still not going to be a very good team. They lost significant pieces on defense, and their offense isn't very good at all. Hell, they only topped 28 points with Garber one time, even though he faced some absolutely horrible defenses.

If Cal finished 8-5 last year and 35th/37th in the AP and Coaches, a 9-win Cal isn't going to be top 15. A 10-win Cal probably won't based on how the Pac-12 has been in recent years.

prob depends on the wins.

 

[CaptainStubing]

ANY football game would be great at this point. Shit, i'd watch pop warner football right now

 

[Gatorchip]

ANY football game would be great at this point. Shit, i'd watch pop warner football right now

Slow down there, it's only June. Nothing has been cancelled yet.

 

[CaptainStubing]

Slow down there, it's only June. Nothing has been cancelled yet.

I'm just saying other sports help bridge the gap between football seasons and we haven't had thatl so I'm really itchy for football

 

[Boise4Life]

ANY football game would be great at this point. Shit, i'd watch pop warner football right now

The week zero games get me pumped. It almost doesn’t even matter who’s playing. I was glued to the Arizona/Hawaii game last year. Down 7 on the final play of the game Khalil Tate ripped off about a 25 yard scramble and looked like he was gonna score. Then two defenders came flying out of nowhere and absolutely destroyed him at the one. Not gonna lie. As an Arizona State alum and fan it brought a smile to my face.

 

[cwalke3408]

I think Cal is 3-2 going into that game.

I think they could be 5-0.

Sounds to me like an avi bet

 

[ericd7633]

Sounds to me like an avi bet

Probably will go 4-1 and it'll be a push. I'll certainly make a bet they won't go 3-2 though.

 

[Dalton]

Ohio State at Oregon would be a good one.